This bench is made of pink granite and is located in the area of other memorials on the grounds of the Crawford County Courthouse. Information on Sgt. Casey Byers:
(
visit link)
The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died June 11, 2005, in Al Taqaddum, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their military vehicle.
Killed were:
Specialist Casey Byers, 22, of Schleswig, Iowa. Byers was assigned to the Army National Guard's 224th Engineer Battalion, Ottumwa, Iowa.
Sergeant First Class Neil A. Prince, 35, of Baltimore, Maryland. Prince was assigned to the Army's 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado.
Both the 224th Engineer Battalion's commanding officer and Co. B's commander on Wednesday praised Specialist Casey Byers' role with the unit.
Byers, of Schleswig, was killed Saturday when an explosive device detonated under his vehicle. He was the first member of Co. B to be killed while in Iraq. Another member of the unit, Spec. James Migues of Ottumwa, was wounded.
Captain Doug Post, the commanding officer for Co. B, said the unit is trying to pull together after Byers' death.
"Everybody here at B CO 224th EN BN are doing an acceptable job, and are getting through this hard time by pulling together and helping each other with whatever that soldier needs," Post wrote in an e-mail to The Courier. "Everybody here misses Secialist Casey Byers a lot, he was a world class soldier, one that will be missed for his abilities as well for his funny nature, his smile, and the ability to make people laugh."
Lieutenant Colonel Todd Jacobus, the 224th's commander, called Byers in an e-mail a "super-man type soldier."
"He worked hard and he played hard. He was the kind of guy you would want at your side when the going got tough. His Squad members loved him like a brother; they would do anything for each other," Jacobus wrote.
"Specialist Byers was very proud to be a Soldier; you could tell that by the way he walked, talked, and looked. He was very fun to be around. If you look at the photographs that his Squad members have taken with Specialist Byers - he was ALWAYS in the middle of the picture, almost like they gathered around him."
Jacobus noted that Byers was eligible for promotion to sergeant and predicted the promotion would be made posthumously.
Lieutenant Colonel Greg Hapgood, the Iowa Army National Guard's public information officer, confirmed that Byers will be promoted.